Teachers’ union threatens action over school safety fears
Teachers in several par ts of Scotland could take industrial action in disputes over school coronavirus safety, the countr y's largest teaching union has warned.
The Educational Institute of S cotland (EIS) says six of its branches are moving to ballot members in disputes with their local authorities, while a n o t h e r f o u r b r a n c h e s a r e considering whether to take this step.
E I S s ay s c u r r e n t c o r o n a - virus measures do not keep pupils or staff safe. It is calling for more remote teaching and learning to be used before and after the Christmas break.
I t h a s p r o p o s e d a s h i f t t o remote working for a few days around the festive period.
EIS general secretar y Larry Flanagan said: "The Scottish Government and local authorities seem determined to keep schools physically open, at all costs, right up to Christmas.
"S c o t l a n d ' s t e a c h e r s a r e clear that this will present a ver y real risk to their health, their pupils' health and the h e a l t h o f t h e i r f a m i l i e s b y increasing the risk of Covid-19 spreading through family festive gatherings.
"Making a very slight change to arrangements around the holiday period, by allowing teachers and students to work r e mo t e l y f r o m h o me f o r a few days, would significantly reduce the risk of pupils or staff taking the virus into their family groups in the festive period."
A S c o t t i s h G o v e r n m e n t spokesman said: "We recognise that this is an anxious time for teachers, families and pupils and we are grateful to all school staff for their dedication and hard work during a very challenging time.
"T h e s a f e t y g u i d a n c e o n reducing the risks of coronavirus in schools includes robust measures to help us to protect teachers, pupils and the whole school community.
"The Health and Safety Executive provided very positive feedback on the way schools are implementing that guidance and we are monitoring the situation closely, along with emerging scientific evidence."
He continued: "There is no current direct evidence that transmission within schools plays a significant contributory role in driving increased rates of infection among children and ONS data has shown no evidence of any difference bet ween the positivit y rates of teachers and other school staff.”